Who or What Defines You?

The last few weeks have been brutal for many people across the globe. Here in the northeast it has been brutally cold. For many of the older folk or those with chronic illness it is particularly difficult.
For myself it elevates my pain levels tremendously. Neuralgia or neuropathy, which is pain in the nerves of the legs, is very difficult to manage on a regular basis. But the extreme cold elevates that pain, making it almost unbearable at times.
One morning I was doing my devotions and prayer time, the thought came into my head, do I let my pain define who I am emotionally, and spiritually. I am not talking about the physical aspects. But I am talking about our attitudes, our personality, and how we represent Jesus Christ in us.
Wow, I had to sit back and think about that for a bit. How do I react when my pain is severe? Am I extra "grumpy"? Do I get angry with God? How do I treat others? These are all legitimate questions, and ones we all need to ask ourselves at times. I will be the first to repent, I know I am far from perfect and need to be better at handling my pain at times.
I know that our Lord Jesus is bigger, stronger, and totally capable of getting me through those difficult days. And that is how I need to approach my day. Being totally confident that Jesus will keep His promises, He will not leave me, He hears my prayers and will answer my prayers. When I am feeling extra weak He will give me strength. Does this mean my pain will go away? Not necessarily.
Remember I am talking about how we react emotionally and spiritually. I am talking about our attitudes. And are we allowing that pain to define who we are?
My prayer for myself is that I will not allow my pain to show by way of my attitude, my speech to others, and mostly how I react to God. I want others to see Jesus in me, not pain. I want them to see the joy of the Lord in me. I pray that I can reach deep down and pull out that strength that Jesus has given me. And mostly, I want to always give Jesus the glory and thanksgiving He deserves.
I don't want to be known for my pain, I want to be know as a daughter of the King of Kings, an heir to the Kingdom, and someone who loves Jesus Christ with all I have within me.
We all have different issues in our lives. And many different things affect us physically. But we do not have to let those things drag us down spiritually. Jesus will never leave our side, call on Him, He will lift you up.
One thing I want to mention, I am not saying you must hide your pain. After all, we want others to pray for us. We need to be honest with ourselves and with others. But what I am saying is we do not need to get into a negative frame of mind, or be angry with God because we have pain. We need to stay in God's Word and gain strength. We need to persevere and press on, because Jesus has so much more for us.
I pray for you, faithful readers, whatever you are struggling with, whatever is trying to pull you down, call out to Jesus. Stand up tall and strong, because your pain doesn't have to define who you are. Our life with Jesus defines us. The hope, love, faith that we have in Jesus defines us.

I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].
Philippians 1:6